In less than a month, two Keene State College students have been injured by vehicles while crossing the street, which is causing KSC students to question their safety while crossing the streets of Keene.
KSC student Jacob Kilburn, 21, of Putney, Vermont, was hit by a car at night while crossing Main St. in a crosswalk at the end of October.
David Walsh / News Editor
He was first placed in a medically-induced coma at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon to reduce swelling, but has since been making a steady recovery, according to a Keene Sentinel report.
On Nov. 17 another KSC student, Torin Scalora-Riley, 18, of Newington, Connecticut, was struck on Winchester St. around 5:15 p.m. He was taken to Cheshire Medical Center with minor injuries.
The driver who hit him claimed he wasn’t in a crosswalk; Scalora-Riley said he was, but according Meghan Foley of The Sentinel, Keene police said there is not enough evidence to indicate who was at fault and no charges were filed.
One student being hit in a crosswalk was enough to make students question their safety while crossing the street, but two in less than a month have students taking extra precautions before crossing the street.
KSC Senior Jarrid Nason said he feels safe crossing during the day, but it is riskier at night.
Nason also said he thinks the changing of the seasons may have something to do with the increase in pedestrian-vehicle accidents.
“The weather is getting colder and it’s getting darker earlier, so people tend to wear more layers of clothing and hoods that block their view,” Nason said,
“They are also walking with their heads down to avoid the wind and rushing to get out of the cold.”
KSC Senior Alex Lopez said many times he doesn’t feel very safe crossing the street in Keene because of the way many people drive.
“Some people might not see you, but then some people do see you and continue to keep going fast,” Lopez said,
“So I usually stop and make sure the cars come to a complete stop before I cross.”
This is one of the actions KSC Associate Director of Campus Safety Stuart Mitchell told students to do to protect themselves, in a recent interview with KSC-TV.
He said students should, “Look left, look right, then look left again when you cross.Stay in lighted areas, if you can wear brighter-colored clothing [do so], and don’t come out from in between parked cars. Exercise due caution when stepping off of that curb.”
The Winchester St. crosswalks on campus are raised and have motion-activated lights on the crosswalk itself and signs to warn drivers, whereas Main St. only has regular crosswalks.
There is also ample street lighting on Winchester St., opposed to Main St. where there is very little lighting provided by streetlights.
Mitchell said that the steps that have been taken on Winchester St. to ensure crosswalk safety are good and necessary for that street, but not necessarily needed on Main St.
Lopez disagreed and said he thinks a similar lighting system on the Main St. crosswalks by Appian Way would be very helpful in reducing close-calls and actual accidents.
According to KSC-TV there are no plans in the immediate future to make any changes to crosswalks around the college.
Jesse Reynolds can be contacted at jreynolds@keene-equinox.com
